> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

The Foundation at the Center of the Admissions-Bribery Scandal Has a Surprising Item in Its Portfolio: The Versatile Ph.D.

By  Dan Bauman
March 14, 2019
William (Rick) Singer, executive director of the Key Worldwide Foundation, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston on Tuesday. Many universities and graduate students subscribe to The Versatile Ph.D., a popular career resource owned by the foundation. Now, with its leader in legal jeopardy, the service’s future is uncertain.
Jessica Rinaldi, The Boston Globe via Getty Images
William (Rick) Singer, executive director of the Key Worldwide Foundation, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston on Tuesday. Many universities and graduate students subscribe to The Versatile Ph.D., a popular career resource owned by the foundation. Now, with its leader in legal jeopardy, the service’s future is uncertain.

The Key Worldwide Foundation has become infamous for the task Justice Department officials say it performed: allowing William (Rick) Singer, its executive director, to allegedly funnel bribes from parents to college coaches and athletic departments as part of a fraudulent admission scheme that exploded into scandal this week.

But the alleged payouts weren’t the foundation’s only forays into higher education. Nearly a year ago, the foundation purchased The Versatile Ph.D., a longstanding online community and portal for graduate students and doctorate holders seeking careers outside academe.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

William (Rick) Singer, executive director of the Key Worldwide Foundation, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston on Tuesday. Many universities and graduate students subscribe to The Versatile Ph.D., a popular career resource owned by the foundation. Now, with its leader in legal jeopardy, the service’s future is uncertain.
Jessica Rinaldi, The Boston Globe via Getty Images
William (Rick) Singer, executive director of the Key Worldwide Foundation, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston on Tuesday. Many universities and graduate students subscribe to The Versatile Ph.D., a popular career resource owned by the foundation. Now, with its leader in legal jeopardy, the service’s future is uncertain.

The Key Worldwide Foundation has become infamous for the task Justice Department officials say it performed: allowing William (Rick) Singer, its executive director, to allegedly funnel bribes from parents to college coaches and athletic departments as part of a fraudulent admission scheme that exploded into scandal this week.

But the alleged payouts weren’t the foundation’s only forays into higher education. Nearly a year ago, the foundation purchased The Versatile Ph.D., a longstanding online community and portal for graduate students and doctorate holders seeking careers outside academe.

Collage of admissions-bribery scheme, March 2019, w/o caption
Admission Through the ‘Side Door’
Dozens of people, including famous actors, college coaches, and a university administrator, have been charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in an admissions-bribery scheme involving Yale, Stanford, and other elite institutions.
  • One Year After College-Admissions Scandal, 3 Questions About What (if Anything) Has Changed
  • 5 Questions to Consider in the Wake of the Admissions Scandal
  • The Bribery Scandal Revealed Holes in Admissions Oversight. Now Some Professors Want to Take Back That Role.

The service evolved out of a free email list founded in 1999 by Paula Chambers, who went on to complete a Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition at Ohio State University a year later. As demand for guidance on nonacademic careers swelled among graduate students, The Versatile Ph.D. became an increasingly popular resource.

The website boasts 85,000 individual members, according to a news release announcing its acquisition by the Key Worldwide Foundation, in May 2018. In addition, the site lists 65 institutions, including Harvard, Michigan, Rice, and other research universities, that subscribe to the service as a career-counseling tool for graduate students.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Justice Department’s indictment of Singer and his subsequent guilty pleas cast some uncertainty on the service’s future. The Key Worldwide Foundation may be forced to forfeit its investment in a variety of assets, including The Versatile Ph.D., LLC, and VersatilePhd.com.

According to the news release, which was pulled offline this week, the foundation’s purchase of The Versatile Ph.D. was made through its “education and career initiative under PeplWorks.” The PeplWorks website, which lists The Versatile Ph.D. as a “partner,” describes itself as a “mission-focused service company dedicated to providing individuals and enterprises with their most predictable and productive work outcomes.”

Todd D. Maurer, named in the release as chief executive of PeplWorks, is now president of The Versatile Ph.D. He said in an email interview on Thursday that the company “anticipates continuing under new ownership, in some form, into the future.” In addition, he said, the company has reassured clients since the indictments were announced that services will continue as usual.

“Versatile Ph.D. was acquired by the Key Worldwide Foundation in May 2018 and operates independently,” Maurer said. “We do not have any relationship to admissions activities. In fact, our continuing mission is to help Ph.D. and postdoctoral students envision, prepare for, and excel in professional careers.”

We do not have any relationship to admissions activities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chambers, the platform’s founder, said in a written statement that she has not been associated with the company since its sale.

Although Maurer said The Versatile Ph.D. is independent of the Key Worldwide Foundation, Singer remains Versatile Ph.D.’s chief executive officer, according to the most recent publicly available filings with the secretary of state of California, where it is incorporated. The transition in leadership from Chambers to Singer occurred a month after the sale.

California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, has ordered the foundation to provide an accounting of all the assets it has held or disbursed since its inception, including Versatile Ph.D.

Since the indictments were announced, on Tuesday, the Versatile Ph.D. website has played down its connection to the foundation. A cached February 25 page on its website described its acquisition by the foundation in 2018. By Thursday, that acknowledgment had been deleted.

Dan Bauman is a reporter who investigates and writes about all things data in higher education. Tweet him at @danbauman77 or email him at dan.bauman@chronicle.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

A version of this article appeared in the March 29, 2019, issue.
Read other items in this Admission Through the ‘Side Door’ package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Graduate EducationInnovation & Transformation
Dan Bauman
Dan Bauman is a reporter who investigates and writes about all things data in higher education. Tweet him at @danbauman77, or email him at dan.bauman@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin